Sudanese Christians Afraid to Pray

Sudanese Christians Afraid to Pray

While many around the world are praying for Meriam Ibrahim, a Christian mother who faces a death sentence for denying the Muslim faith, CNN reports that Sudanese Christians “don’t feel safe in prayer.”

Pews that were once packed are now empty and choirs that used to sing victoriously have gone silent.

After a long fought war, in 2011 the predominately Christian south succeeded from the rest of the country becoming a separate nation known as South Sudan. Since that time Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has pushed to make Sudan an Islamic Arab nation.

"If you look at the laws of the country - the laws favor Muslims," Sudanese human rights attorney Nabeel Adeeb told CNN. "Number one, the crime of apostasy, which is creating a wall around Islam that nobody is allowed to leave."

Adeeb maintains that a growing intolerance towards Christians has increased.

"In the war of propaganda between the two religions, Christianity will stand no chance. All the media is used to promote Islamic beliefs and to speak about Islam as the only religion and to insult other beliefs, especially Christianity which is normally referred to as being an infidel."

As previously reported by Christian Headlines, Ibrahim was given three days to publicly recant her Christian faith or face sentencing. On May 15, Ibrahim refused to recant her faith and was sentenced to 100 lashes and death.

Ibrahim gave birth to a daughter May 27 while in prisons hospital wing.